A funeral service for Liberian Ambassador Alexander H.N. Wallace III was held Sept. 2 at Trinity Episcopal Church in D.C.
Wallace, who also served as Plenipotentiary to the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Republic of Syria, died July 30 at the age of 72 at his residence in Cairo.
The Rev. Canon John T.W. Harmon, rector and pastor of Trinity Episcopal Church, remembered Wallace as a person who demonstrated strong commitment to whatever he undertook, whether in his role as a diplomat, a family man or a church member.
Hundreds of people, including relatives, Liberian officials and former colleagues, reportedly attended the service.
Queens Girl in Africa Hits D.C.
During the Kennedy Center’s 16th annual Page-to-Stage Festival, the Mosaic Theater Company of DC unveiled an array of upcoming plays with people of color as main characters, including “Queens Girl in Africa.”
Initially set in the New York City borough of Queens, the play serves as the coming-of-age story of Jacqueline Marie Butler, who at age 12 is bounced from a Queens public school to a private school in Manhattan and ultimately forced to move to Nigeria as her father joins the staff of a new all-African hospital.
The play, set in the mid-1960s, is directed by noted playwright Paige Hernandez.
“Queens Girl in Africa” will run from Jan. 4 through Feb. 4 at Atlas Performing Arts Center in northeast D.C. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling 202-399-7993, ext. 2.
US-Africa Energy Summit Canceled After Denied Visas
After African officials and invitees were recently denied U.S. visas in order to attend the US-Africa Energy Summit, the event was cancelled.
A note was sent last week to prospective attendees, stating that the fully booked two-day event, scheduled for in late September, would no longer take place due to denials of U.S. visas to most of the registered African participants.
“This is part of a broad policy of the Trump administration to deny, stall and obstruct visa requests regardless of their source,” Samba Baldeh, elected official and native of Gambia said in a statement. “These denials are for everyone, from visits from a member of an immediate family, to former heads of state.”
Some officials worry that this may be a new political trend, noting the cancellation of another U.S.-Africa summit in March due to visa issues.